After the resignation of Prime Minister Letta last week, President Napolitano gives asks to centre-left leader Matteo Renzi to form a Government.

After the resignation of Prime Minister Letta last week, President Napolitano gives asks to centre-left leader Matteo Renzi to form a Government.

Renzi, who met Napolitano for 90 minutes on Monday, will need to seal a formal coalition deal with the small centre-right NCD party to secure a governing majority and name his cabinet before seeking a formal vote of confidence in parliament later this week.

Letta stepped down on Friday after the Democratic Party approved a motion calling for a new government proposed by the 39-year-old Renzi, elected to the party leadership in December.

Renzi will be the European Union’s youngest prime minister if he succeeds and has promised radical reforms to combat rampant unemployment, boost growth and slash the costs of Italy’s weighty bureaucracy.

Personally I think he bears a striking resemblance to Alan B’stard, Rick Mayall’s New Statesman, lets hope it’s only the looks that match.